Candlelight Inn Restaurant - Clinton Iowa — Restaurant in Clinton

We've been to Candlelight many times now, as we love their location on the river. The patio is awesome and we love sitting out there - too bad Trop Depression Cristobal yesterday deterred our plans for our first restaurant experience since COVID hit! It was way too chilly for eating outside. However, Candlelight did a great job inside. We were pretty wary of eating inside a restaurant with everything going on, but all staff were wearing masks, and tables were very nicely spaced apart so we felt good with the distancing. There were no condiments on the table, and our table and chairs were wiped down before we were seated, menus were paper and I'm assuming changed out often (if not with every guest, not sure). They also ask guests to wear masks while walking through the restaurant (oops, we forgot our's!) which is nice.

The food was pretty typical for Candlelight, not much has changed there except availability, which is totally understandable with everything going on in the world right now. The Chicken George was excellent and the Prime Rib was very good as well, although for a King portion, there was a very large hunk of fat included which felt like a bit of wasted money. The meals only come w/one side which I don't remember, I thought salads were included plus a side, so the cost added up for our meal. My side was forgotten & I had to ask 2 different people before it came out. My mom ordered shrimp scampi fettuccine and that was the most disappointing as she said it had absolutely zero flavor. She complained to the waitress and requested salt, pepper, and fresh parm which helped, but the waitress didn't offer to have the kitchen do anything to fix it. The portion was also pretty small - my mom said she was still hungry despite adding a salad to start as well.

Overall, I give Candlelight 4 stars: I feel like the food is always average here, but the setting and the attention to detail with...

We waited literally 2 hours to be seated. There were tons of dirty tables waiting to be cleaned. You could tell the staff was hurrying but it's like something is just completely out of sync here. For the wait time I expected to be wowed by the food and I just wasn't. My daughter got the Angus burger and sweet potato fries which she said was great. My dad got some kind of seafood platter. What a joke. The "scallops" were the size of a dime. I could hardly believe my eyes. I got 4... FOUR small onion rings with my meal. I was not a fan of the chicken George that everyone raves about. It was a huge portion which was really unnecessary and I honestly would've rather had more onion rings! There's nothing really "wrong" with the chicken but the batter is sort of just bland and tasteless. It NEEDS sauce and their house sauce just didn't do it for me. Way too sweet. My partner got some kind of fish which was exceptional to me, someone who doesn't care for fish, and I would've rather had that because it had a nice glaze. The mac and cheese... guys... soooo many breadcrumbs. Let's just not. It does not need that. It's really pretty good without it. Throw some parmesan cheese on top for the crispy crust instead! Our waiter was great. The staff is pretty nice and they really seem like they're trying but man... the organization of the staff just seems off or something. They needed about two more people bussing tables. I'd rather stop seating for 20 minutes to clear tables than keep forcing people to wait. The atmosphere is nice. It's the perfect location in Clinton for this business to flourish even more but they need a little help. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to go back even though I visit...

The building itself is lovely inside, and has wonderful views. I don't think the food lived up to those standards though. I've been there twice, and both times have been pretty good to decent taste wise, but not something I would necessarily look forward to. The menu is your pretty basic, run of the mill family steakhouse dinner type of fare. Nothing particularly unique that you can't get many other places. However, maybe not in Clinton (we visit from out of state).

Some guests that I've been with really seem to like the Chicken George. The salad and French onion soup was good. My dad ordered some crab topped salmon, which looked like it was on a bed of some quinoa blend. The veggies in the blend looked like diced, frozen carrots just heated and thrown in there, while the salmon was pretty dry. The other food that I've tried was alright, but a little disappointing when compared to the somewhat upscale atmosphere. I expected more I guess.

The first time I went, our server was amazing. Attentive, friendly, and she offered to bring a small plate of snacks for my kids to keep themselves busy while we all waited. The second time, our server did his job, but was about it. We also had a long wait for our food. Prices are pretty fair for the most part, but don't overpay for the dry salmon.

Overall, if you're looking for a "nice" restaurant, this is an ok choice. I don't think Clinton has too much competition within their restaurant selections. With some modifications to their menu and food preparation, this has the potential to be a...